Machine gun



' 1,625,994 w. T. GORTON MACHINE GUN Filed July 11. 1924 4 Sheets- Sheet 1 I Zlnmmtoz Walt E 115111712 111 fimw m,

April 26, 1927.:

April 26 1927.

w. T. GORTON MACHINE GUN 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 11.

April 26 1927. 1,625,994

w. T. GORTON MACHINE GUN I 7 Filed July 11. 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Walt Er T. G art DTL To permit Patented Apn 2a, 1927*.

I UNrr-Eo STATES E warren 3r. eon'ron, or mm umrnn s'rn'rns Alma. seamen-mm), i eon.

; SAOEUSE'ITB.

Application med my 11,. a24. Serial a team.

(GRANTED UNDER THE A0101 The invention describedvherein may be used by the Government, or any.of1ts oificers oremployees in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any otherperson-in'the-United States,--without payment to me of any r0 alty thereon, in accordance- :with. the act of arch 3, 1883. x The subject of this invention is a machine no} J I mounting machine it is customary to mount 1 by side thereby limiting the spacev avail-v able for the guns and their complementary equipment. To facilitate the-.operationsof .4 the guns in such instances, it is desirabl'e'to' so constructthem that they may be operated from opposite sides, that is,"one'r1ght handed andone left handed so that the cartridge belts maybe fed from the inner or more ac- 20, 'cessible'side. To eliminate the necessity for providin both rightandleft hand guns, 1t

' 1S desira le to construct a. gun of symmetrical arrangement so that it may be operated from-either side by the interchange of a minimum number of its'parts without in- -'terf ering with the essential operative ele-.-

' lmentslof the -gun.

r In order to obtain-this symmetrical arrangement special provisions must be made '30. in certain features of the gun, which af- "1] feet principally means for alternate feeding of a 'e'artrid e belt whichmay be of fabric or metal-lie integrating link construction,

' stripping the links from'the cartridge, sto -p' ing-;the cartridge and belt, extracting't e cartridge from the belt and ejecting the 'rvemptygcartridgecasel Attachment; and op eratioif'of a trigger mechanismjforreleas- 'ing;th e'*fir' in which will-be o rable 4'0 from ei tlier m e of the 1 y in; a' companion application.

' s of this c ass, the belt is one si eabove the-breech mechanism and-is ejectedjfrom the op' osite side; The liv'e' cartri'd 'e is extract drawn, owered, and inserted into the breech.

while the empty cartridge caseis ejectedthrough the bottom. of the receiver :during thelower' movementofthe livecgittridgp. e extraction and e'e tion: of e from either side of t o .it is 1 cartridge to adapt the barrel-estensionand essentia ims. on airc'raft,= them in palrs side F g. 15 is .adetail view of the reversible gu'n are-em odicd, jI-Fig; .16 is a detailview -offthe' linkistrip-l fedfrom' from the belt,- withimac 3, was; 22 Sfr AT. 1.. sea.)

hereinafter a'ndpointed out in the. claims forming a part of this specification. '60 'A', practical embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

' .Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of th'e rear end'of a machine gun; .65

' Fig. 2 is a combination of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 3-is a plan view of the rear end of the gunshown in section in- Fig. 1 partly broken to show the recoil spring and guide;'

Fig. 4 is a combinationfof Fig. 3 with'the cover removed; 4

' .Fig. 5 is a plan'vie 'wj of the inner side of the covert.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on theline 6-6 'ofFiga2;

-. Fig. 7 is a perspective of the feed-slide;

Fig. .8' is a" side elevation of the left belt guid e;, p I

I Fig. 9lis, a plan 'view of the combined cam and spring; I

,EigglO is aside elevation of the cam; pr ng; I

Fig. 1 1-is .a view. in elevation, partly in section, of the belt stop; 4

Fig. 12 's a sectional viewfin elevation,-- partly insection, of the belt feed'pawl;

1 Fig. 13 'is'a detail Lview of the rear carf ,tridge stop; 4

Fig. 14 s asimilar View of the front'cbar ridge stop; 4

w'Fig. 17 isa .plate;and I Fig. 18

Referring to. the drawings-bynumeralsof reference" The; receiver is a 10' plate 11, and "a top plate 12 riveted fig ther manysaitablemanner. The inner surface p an .view of the front V5 1co itudinal rectilinear box compr sing side-p ates 10, a bottom I" of the" side plates adjacent theirrear ends are formed with vertical:.-=grooves (see Fig. 3). for the I reception f the tongues the shock of the 'recoiling .portions.

The forward end of the receiver, is closed by a trunnion block 14 (Fig. 2) conveniently rivetedjto the receiver and bored for the reception of the'breech end of a barrel 15 in a close sliding fit. The trunnion block is counterbored and tapped for threaded engagement with the rear ofa barrel jacket 16. Connected to the breech end of the barrel isa barrelextension 17 which terminates in a narrowed arm 18 formed with a stud 19. The rear side portions of thebarrel extension are slotted as at 17 toreceive a corresponding beveled extension 20 of a lock frame 21 and further slotted to receive pins 22 car g a breech lock 23 which is vertically shdable with respect to the exttensions.

- the narrowe The lock frame 21 is' adapted for the reception .of an accelerator mechanism comgagement with the firing pin 32 by a slide 38, transversely mounted in the bolt, which PIlSlDg, a plunger 24 working in a guide 25 of thelock frame and urgedforwardl by a spring 26 confined between the gui e .and the head of the plan er which is reduced to seatfima recess in t e stud 19 formed on the arm 18 of the barrel" extension, and an' accelerator 27, lpivotally' mounted in the forward part of't e lock frame 21 and formed with two fin ers disposed on either side of arm 18 of the barrel extension. On recoil, the barrel extension '1nr 1- parts its motion to the accelerator which is turned on its pivot to engage ad ependingt 7 with the) bolt. i

." rear of the bolt trips the accelerator andtunrear portion ofthe bolt transmitting an accelerated motion to-the bolt and when the;

accelerator reaches its extreme backward position it acts as a stop for the barrel extension, causing it to come to rest. -In its back ward movement, the barrel. extension com presses the plunger s ring 26, which is ocked by engagement 0 the accelerator with the stud 19, while the extensions'of the-lock frame 21 engage the breech lock pin 22- tocam the breech lock 23out of engagement On -.the counter rccoil the locks the barrel plunger which isthen free to assist; :in'; driving the" barrel, extension-"- home,'.-which in turn forces the breech lock tov be elevated by acam' plate 28 secured-to the boKom'plat'e-ll. g v breech 'bolt 29 is reciprocally mounted on'the barrel. extension and is for1ned. to i'enga e in grooves, on the 1nner"s1des.of the barrifi extension. .A slot is formed in the lower. rear portion of the bolt to recelve'the breech lock 23 when in forward position;

for retaining a collar 30 confined by and.

retractablewith the bolt to compress the spring. The forward'face of the bolt is formed into a T-slot 29 for gripping a cartridge. The bolt is longitudinally bored to reciprocally mount a hollowed firing pini 32, the point ofwhich extends through an aperture in the forward end of the bolt. The firing p111 carries a spring 3: confined between an abutment 1n the forward end of the firing pin and a holding pin 34' pass-' ing through aligning slots in the firing pin and seated in a recess in the bolt. The holding pin 34 also retains a scar spring 35 WhlCh engages a scar 36 slidably mounted in the rear ofthe bolt to normally depress 1 the same into a transverse groove fornied' in the upper face of the firing pin adjacent its rear end to hold the ,firing pin in cocked position when a cocking lever 37 carried by the bolt retracts the firing, pin in a wellknown manner.

The sear 36 is maintained in locking cn-- rides on an-outstanding lug-of the scar and which is normally positioned by means of a sprang 38 1n l1ne with a tripelement' (notshown) adaptedto be mounted on either side a groove 38 cut in the bottom of the sli e is aligned with the lug on the sear,

whereby to permit'the soar to rise when antom'atically cammed out of engagement with the firing pin 32 through the instrumcntality of the firing pin spring 33. a

Mounted in the left f nf-ward side of' the bolt 29 'is an extractor having a shank 39, a-

cam plunger 40 and a claw 41 positioned'in -fr ont of and in line with the center of the bolt face and adapted to engage the. can-' nelure of a cartridge towithdraw it from a feed 'belt during recoil; The shank and the claw remain in this position on the'left: of,

the bolt irrespectiveof the direction of fecd. The claw141 carries a symmetrical ,fingerlike ejector 42 mounted to the left-ofthe claw 41 when positioned for right-hand feed and seated on a.,fl an e 43 of the extractor when reversed for le hand feed.- It will .be. noted that when the ejector '42- is mounted. on "the -flange 43. it will nofi'interferc with the guide 31 during movement of the bolt 29. The barrel extension 17-i'si'formed with an opposite clearance out 175 to acoom modate the e'ector in either .of the above 5 I 1,025,994 I I grips it firmly due to the pressure. of its plunger spring 44 to prevent it fromfalliug uring the. ositioning operation. Themem perform the above operations by cams 45 and 46 rivetedto the receiver and a combined cam and spring 47 carried by the cover; As the bolt moves rearwardly on recoil it carries with. it the extractor and a livecartridge, the cam plun er. 4O ridi'p over thebevcl of the cam 46 Fsee- Fig. 183 tocompress the plunger andthe ektractor continuing in an apprpximately horizontal path and being prevented from dropping by the pressure of ,thecam plunger until it is depressed by the-foam 47 to insert the cartridge inthe T- slot' 29' of the bolt 29, Upon counter-recoil. the cam plunger 40 r ding on theunder side of thecam '46 is further depressed to position the cartridge in line with the breech, and at'the same time causing the ejector to engage the empt cartridge .case a'nt force the some out oft e T-slot when it is free to drop through the bottom of the receiver.

When nearing completion 10f the/forward movement, the extractor is forced upward by the cam to position the'claw 41 on the next live cartridge and held in contact therew th by the cam spring 47. It will be understood that the empty cartridge case'is extracted from the breech by the gripping action of the T-SlOt; r

The cover 48 is hinged to the forward end of the receiver, its free end being engage able by the latch 13'. The inner surfaces of I the sides of the cover are longitudinally grooved to reciprocally mounta reversible cam plate 49 formed with a pair of apertures 49',' each of which irres ectrjve of the adjustment of the cam plate or right or left hand operatlorrwill be in position to receive'a corresponding lu' 50' formed on the front endof the elevate right portion of the bolt 29,

whereby the cam. plate and the bolt may be ".moved 1n unison. The rear en'dof the com-- bined'eam' and ring 47 previously referred to; is convenien y mounted. in the. cover as.

cam plate 49 whereby the feed slide may be f-moved transversely of the gun to position-a new cartr1dge inline with the extractor when the bolt and cam plate-are moved rear- 1 tridge belt f from either end an.

opposite airs of apertures 53 to pivotallyshown in'Fig. 1, while-the front .end is re-\ .cervablef in the-rearmost of a pair-of depending: guides 51 formed transversely'on the'cover intermediate its ends. Th

e de' pending guides 51-are formed with to shdablyreceive a flan feed sli e 52 of sufiiclent width to .permlt entry of .a carormed with mount a eed pawl 5st which may. readily be a tomato feeding of thecart-r1 I i Y disposed upon either end of-the slideto prowide for;

belt. An upstanding lug 55.:formedon t e topof the feed slide is engageable in the rs 41 and 42. are constrained-to stop dog or a fille 761 therefor, and a link the bolt handle 67 which projects through a wardly upon recoil and; to cause the teed pawl to rldeover the belt and next cartridge I v on' the reverse or forward movement.

Riveted to the'forward portions of the side lates 10 are similar belt guides 56, each ormed with a bracket 57. The guides I are suitably slotted for the reception. of v front and rear cartridge stops 58 and 59., a

str1pper'62, all of; hich are mounted on a split pin 63 carried, by the bracket. The link' stripper 62 is seated in a groove-formed in-thetrunnion block 14, while the cartridgesto s rest on the upper face-of the block.

For convenience in operating the gun,'to load, unload, and correct stoppages, a loading slide (VF formed with a grip handle 65 andworking in brackets 66 18 connected to slpt 68inthe side plate and functions in. the usual manner: While ,in the foregoing therehas'been, il-

.lustrated and described such combinationv and arrangement of elements as constitute the 'preferred embod ment of my invention, 1t is nevertheless desired to emphasize tbc fact that interpretation of the invention should-only be conclusive when made in the light ofthe subjoined claims.

. Having thus described-my invention what I'claim is:

. '1. A machine .gun embodying reversible cartridge feeding mechanism, recoil operated means for operating said mechanism either. right or left handed, a recoil spring mounted in .said f'means, guide for said spring, an extractor and ejectorassemblycarried by' "said means and adapted for reversible opera-- tion, means for depressing the extractor. durng recoll movement, a barrel extenslon ensaid,extensiongprovided with'opposite clear ance cuts, belt guidesmounted on both sides of the gun, means for stopping a belt-and cartridge, and means for strip mg the cart ridge from the belt, said-stopping and stri ping means ada'ted to be .interchangeab y mounted on the lt guides:

1 2.- A machin gun embodying a reversible cartridge feeding mechanism, recoil operated means .for"'operatinjgsaid mechanism either rightor left handed anextractor and ejector assembly carried by said means and adapted" .to fimction irrespective ofthe direction of operation of the cartridge feeding mechamsm, a cam spring for progressively dethe extractor -during recoil, belt guides mounted jon both sides of the -i stopping. the belt and cartrifi g d, j I

and means tor-stripping the cartridge from the belt, said stopping and stripping means the p lt 3. Amachme embodying a reversible cartridge feedingmechanism, recoil oper adapted to be interchanegably mounted on tractor throughout the entire rearward movementof the boltr.

4. A machine gun embodying reversible cartridge feeding mechanism, .recoil' oper ated means for operating "said mechanism either/right orleft handed, belt guides mounted .on the gun on both sides'of the feeding mechanism; each of said guides 1 formed with a plurality ofslots, a belt holde ector assembly carried by' said means, and

i'ng pawl, cartridge stops, said pawl and stops mountable in the slots at either end of" the guides,'andmeans for extracting and ejecting a cartridge.

5. A machine gun embodying reversible cartridge feeding mechanism, recoil operated means for operating said mechanism either right or left handed, belt guides -mounted on the gun at both sides of the feeding mechanism, said guides each formed with a slot, a link stripper mountable 1n the slot of either of the belt guides, and means for extracting and ejecting a cartridge.

6. A machine gun embod dng a cartridge feeding slide, said slide formed with opposite guides to permit entry of the cartridge.

belt from either side, a reversible-feed pawl adapted to be mounted at either end of the slide, recoil operated means for operating said slide either right or left handed, and

means for extracting and ejecting a cartridge.

7. A machine gun embodyingreversible cartridge feeding mechanism, recoil operated means for operating said mechanism I 'ota'lly "mounted in sa d-means and .an -ejectorf mountable on' elther side of the extractor.

either right or left handed, a spring carried by said means, a gulde for the spring, an extractor mounted in said means, and an ejector mounted on either side of the exmg recozl.-j-

- 85A machm; -embodying' reversible "t e ti duel means or operatin said mechanism either right or'lleft hande abarrel extension-en- 'gageable by said means, said extension provided with-oposite clearance cuts, .-an-=ex-. tractor carrie by said means, a'ndan ejector mounted on'either-side of the extractor. I 9. A machine. gun embodying reversible cartridgefeeding mechanism, recoil operat-- ed means for operating said mechanism either right or left handed, an extractor and unitary means for depressing the extractor when in forward position and, further depressing the extractor when in rearward posit on.

10. A machine gun embodying' reversible cartridge feeding mechanism, recoil operated means -.for operating said mechanism either right or left handed, belt guides mounted .on either-side of the "un', said guides adapted to interchan eab ycarry means 'for stopping a belt-an s cartridge and means for stripping the belt from the cartridge, and means for extracting and ejecting a cartridge.

' 11. A machine gun embodying acartridge .feedslide, recoil operated means for operating said slide either right or left handed, a reversible feed pawl carried bythe slide for engaging aeartridge, and means for ex- I 'tra'cting and ejecting the cartridge.

- 12. A machinegun embodying a reversible cartridge feeding mechanism,- recoil operated means for operating said mechanism either right or' left'handed, an extractor'piv- WALTER T. eon'ronl 

